-
ICMag with help from Landrace Warden and The Vault is running a NEW contest in November! You can check it here. Prizes are seeds & forum premium access. Come join in!
Alternatives to Perlite for soil aeration?
- Thread starter Cvh
- Start date
Three Berries
Active member
Nuke them first. But corn cobs I would say are pretty pest free especially if you are collecting them from corn you eat off the cob.
St. Phatty
Active member
Whatever soil mixers you're using, it's important to watch the pH.
If it's in the ground, then taking the same exact soil mix and putting in a pot, gives you a way to measure the pH of what is in the ground.
If it's in the ground, then taking the same exact soil mix and putting in a pot, gives you a way to measure the pH of what is in the ground.
I thought about corn cobs when i saw what looked like crushed cobs as a carrier for mosquito control. I'm not in big corn country, these days, but it is possible to get corn to grow in a good year. Popcorn and mini corn do better, as they usually finish faster than field corn or sweet corn. We usually test out a sweet corn or popcorn type every year, this year will be trying a mini corn. Hope to get a good 'seed crop' and make a bigger grow next year...was thinking of wildlife plots, and just leaving most for overwinter feed for the wild critters. May as well see how this would work for adding to potting soil. Just wondering how to grind that stuff up. Might make good 'under-fill' for raised beds, even if not chopped up.
I'm a fan of using lava rock, but it is not very light...which is good, if wanting 'balast', ha. We have a ton of wind, here. Any container going out onto the deck needs some weight.
I'm a fan of using lava rock, but it is not very light...which is good, if wanting 'balast', ha. We have a ton of wind, here. Any container going out onto the deck needs some weight.
Three Berries
Active member
The fact it takes so long for corn cobs to decompose would indicate there is little food value so they don't really attract bugs or fungus. Mostly straight cellulose I would guess.
And another thing would be cannabis stems, the bigger the better.
And another thing would be cannabis stems, the bigger the better.
KidCharlemagne
Active member
Coarse sand or sandy loam has been the conclusion I keep coming back to in regards to a perlite alternative. It's not light in weight, but it is what was used in container gardening before perlite became an option.
Timj
Well-known member
This is my garden grinder. I use it to grind the hardwood charcoal from our fireplaces. It takes some work. But, I like to recycle as much as I can. Matter of fact. I just finished a 5 gallon pail tonight. Here's what I start with.
This is out of the grinder.
Bio char largest asset to no-till gardening is as a storage vessel for nutrients. When bacteria attach to the bio char they make these nutrients and those nearby plant available. This is done using an enzyme they excrete to attach to the char or rock dust. This enzyme helps break down the nutrients and then in turn the bacteria ingest them and poop out plant available nutrients.They do this without the fear of attack from protoza, as the bacteria can hide inside the porous surface of the bio char. Rock dust acts as an anchor point only. But, doesn't offer any protection from the protoza that eat the bacteria. All part of the soil food web in living organic soil.
The aeration component of my growing medium consists of about 30% of each of the following. Char,rice hulls and perlite.
The aeration component of my growing medium consists of about 30% of each of the following. Char,rice hulls and perlite.
Last edited:
mike-or-ozzy
Well-known member
Timj
Well-known member
I normally use around 10-14% in my mediums. But, I have used around 20% with no negative repercussions.
heirloomganja
Active member
Basalt split 0-2mm
Terpyterps
Active member
I am on team bio char. I use this non pre-changed version. Although I use tiny bit perlite but it doesn’t seem to be necessary if you have enough bio char. Also I add little bit of coco coir for the beneficial microbes in my soil mix. Got good aeration and it holds water well but still has good drainage too. Just adding plain water and microbes once in awhile and top dressing on demand. Only flowering “booster” is Plagron Green Sensation and I give them also Aptus Regulator when they are on flowering stage and start to use a lot of P and K.
Back to the topic… I find bio char having similar benefit to drainage and aeration of soil than perlite.
Back to the topic… I find bio char having similar benefit to drainage and aeration of soil than perlite.
Terpyterps
Active member
I also add Diatomaceous Earth to my soil, few scoops. Not sure if the microbes are able to use that Si in it, but it adds aeration and surface area for the microbes to live in just like bio char. If you use bio char you should go with variety of sizes, don’t use only bigger junks but also that dust. Only thing that I don’t like about Diatomaceous Earth is that it makes the top soil easier to go “solid” so you might want to break it up with hands if it happens.
Terpyterps
Active member
Depends what type of a soil you have there.
You can find the amounts for different soils from Google. It is quite a bit you can add there if it has lots of clay. It could go up to 15-20% by volume. I use roughly 8% but it’s already very aerated soil and I add also 2-5% coco coir. But we are talking about two different things, I’m talking about indoor perspective and you about garden bed. But you should first decide what is the soil type and go from there, but roughly anything from 5-25%, more you have clay more you add bio char and viceversa and you can skip the perlite. Best is if you can do it yourself, the bio char, but you could buy it also. I just buy one without anything added and mix up the microbes myself there, but it is not even necessary to do outside because the soil is full of them and it’s cheaper to add worm castings there than buy expensive em or imo and whatever else there is in the market now. Chicken manure and bat guano with worm castings is plenty for kick start microbial life in bad soil. Just want to make your soil nice and aerated with enough drainage. Remember that bio char holds well water so don’t drown your plants.
Thank you very much for your reply!
When talking about a percentage, how deep do I mix it in. Garden beds will be 40-60 cm deep. Adding more than 10% or mixing it deeper than 10-20 cm would be way too much work for me, is the first 10-15 cm enaugh to mix it in or should I do full bed?
I will probably have to add the perlite as well since i already have some and also not enaugh time to fully add aeration just by charcoal.
Anyway, I will try to mix in as much as I can then add more the following years.
When talking about a percentage, how deep do I mix it in. Garden beds will be 40-60 cm deep. Adding more than 10% or mixing it deeper than 10-20 cm would be way too much work for me, is the first 10-15 cm enaugh to mix it in or should I do full bed?
I will probably have to add the perlite as well since i already have some and also not enaugh time to fully add aeration just by charcoal.
Anyway, I will try to mix in as much as I can then add more the following years.
Terpyterps
Active member
Perlite doesn’t hurt and if you still have that just mix it in. If you can you should mix everything together throughout, but if you don’t get all the way to the bottom it’s fine. The first 30-40cm is the most important and outdoors you benefit from mulch because it helps preventing evaporation of the water from the soil.
